All my years as a red carpet host, I have never seen anything close to what to what I experienced at the grand movie premiere of “A Man for the Weekend” in Douala. For a moment, it felt like I was at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles with Hollywood stars schmoozing and having a good time.
The allure, the stars, the smiles, and the excitement in the eyes of my fellow Cameroonians was overwhelming. Let’s face it, Syndy Emade and Blue Rain Entertainment made history on October 28, 2017. They gave Cameroon its best movie premiere ever, Period, End of discussion.
It was also a big night for all the players of Cameroon’s burgeoning movie industry, a platform for self-branding and for once, many dazzled the red carpet with style and glamour.
Events like this can sometimes complement or contradict a celebrity’s screen persona, reboot a career or even cement a reputation.
READ MORE: Exclusive Photos from “A Man For The Weekend” movie premiere
Cameroonians – whether celebrities or average citizens – are usually known for appreciating foreign goods and services. They’d rather waste their earnings on purchasing internationally known fashion brands just to prove they also belong to the highly qualified class of desirability. Not that it’s a bad thing, but we’ve always wondered why they don’t consume locally made products to find out just how good they can be.
This event was different. Whether by chance or design, the red carpet of “A Man For The Weekend” premiere was taken over by blue chip designers and their megastar patrons. I am talking about Cameroonian fashion designers and their clients. They dominated the red carpet and judging by the looks on the faces of attendees, it was obvious they were very surprised at the quality of locally designed outfits so much so that many felt they were attending a Hollywood award ceremony.
Most of the outfits were show stoppers and attendees couldn’t help but take notice. We noticed serious networking happen right before our eyes and will not be surprised if movie and music project deals were sealed that evening.
One thing we noticed was that the local designers kind of played it safe with their cuts and colors. We think they did a very good job instead of trying to play the shock and awe game of the Rihannas, Lady Gagas or Dencias of the world. We also noticed the presence of a top government official in the person of Prof. Narcisse Kombi, Minister of Arts and Culture amongst others.
Syndy Emade,who produced and starred in the film cemented her reputation as a fashion connoisseur with daring tendencies. She wore a white angelic cut-out/see-through dress in Douala and a soft pink feather-domination gown in Yaoundé both designed by celebrity designer EB Kreations.
READ MORE: Ladies’ Night: Every Woman Looked Like Clean Money At A Man For The Weekend Premiere
Media personality Joan Ngomba (yours truly) wore a custom Margo’s Mode white dress adding color and style with a striking blue extra piece by the side. Actress, Nsang Dilong went with a body hugging yellow EB Kreations dress which featured tufts of dangling ropes at the bottom. Lucie Memba had on a sexy lacy pink mini gown slashed strategically to show her lovely toned leg. Not to be outdone, Jeffrey Epule wore a blue African outfit while Nchifor Valery rocked a white and blue suit by Buea-based designer Louis Fame. I could go on and on.
Everyone who participated really upped their game and I hope that such events occur more often. Let’s also learn to believe and consume our own, for the world to see just how creative we’ve become.
Great review… Now, i wished i attended. Great work Joan Ngomba
What a review! Great read
Amazing review . Really wish i attended now.
You took the words out of my mouth… going by the look of the pictures which came out from the premiere, Cameroonian designers are really making us proud. They stand the chance to compete at the international level now. I really salute the young and hungry designers for their continuous growth and zeal to make a difference. Really good review and thank you for throwing light on these designers.
Joan Thank you for highlighting on the designers. This event proved their worth and has made us all to fall in love with them and want to wear them more often. Thank you
Everything about this event was amazing. Syndy Emade must be proud of her self and her team. Fantastic work from a young woman like her. I am inspired
I am totally happy to read this piece of write up. Simple and apt. Great review and it was great reading bout the growth of designers in the country. WE need to push our own like this and make others believe in us. Nice job dcodedtv
Lovely review of the event eventhough i didnt see much about the Yaounde event. But all in all, lovely
If I were Syndy I would be proud. She did great!
Most bloggers should come and read this work. This is how you tell a story of something you saw and attended. Now, i wished i did attend. When next is Syndy doing anything? I want to be there
Awesome write up from Joan Ngomba. A blogger with a difference. I however believed not all went well. However, I am glad you made it good and encouraging for us who missed out to want t be part of such next time.
I am very impressed. Good points on the fashion and organisation of the event. Hope the film does this review some justice
/i am very impressed with this writer. Great review n the red carpet. Courage to our fashion designers, the sky is your limit
Very impressive! I think Cameroonian fashion designers have come a long way. Good to see them being recognized for a job well done. We need many more events like this
From this write up, the Yaounde premiere wasn’t so great buy wo cares? Douala may have blown the writer’s mind so much for her to completely leave out what happened in Yaounde
Very impressive!
Thank you so much for giving us hope when it comes to fashion in Cameroon. Great work
This is how we want red carpet events to look like. seriously!
Reading this was simply great!
Congrats Syndy Emade
If all red carpet events could be like this one then Cameroon entertainment could be heading somewhere. Good review Joan
Amazing review for The man for the weekend premiere. I think designers are working and these type of events is exactly where they need to showcase their talents. I am quite impressed with this article.
Great stuff!
This Syndy girl keeps pushing the limits. I wonder what her next move might be.
When a bloggers writes her mind… it encourages and builds up. Good work Joan
Sorry, no negatives or are you just trying to hide it from us all?
If there was a scandal, I believe Joan would have written it. I love the fact that she is encouraging local designers and praising Syndy for a job well done. This rarely happens with most bloggers in this country.
Awesome review. You used words to paint a picture of the event and that’s Great. While reading, i found myself at the event (In my head oh) and wished i had gone. Nevertheless, we need more of such events with this great magnitude. It’s a step to change the narrative of how movie premiers should be done in Camer hence giving it a boost and proper recognition on the international platform.